Two More LEGO Movies May Be Coming In 2018 And 2019

Made for just $60 million, Phil Lord and Chris Miller's The LEGO Movie created a rather sizable phenomenon when it came out earlier this year. Not only was the film an absolutely smash with critics, it also raked in more than $450 million at the global box office (not bad for a movie that sounded incredibly ridiculous when it was first announced!). Warner Bros. suddenly discovered that they had an entire brand that they could mine for new features, and it didn't take long for them to announce a LEGO Movie 2. But now it sounds like they're not stopping there.

The studio has just announced that they will be releasing two untitled animated films on May 25, 2018, and May 24, 2019 - and The Hollywood Reporter has word from an inside source that both titles will be LEGO related. It has already been announced that The LEGO Movie 2 will be coming out on May 26, 2017, so there is speculation that the 2019 date could be WB possibly getting ready for The LEGO Movie 3. There is also already a Ninjago project in the works - a "spin-off" in certain senses of the word - so it's possible that the 2018 date is for Ninjago 2 (though that would mean that the company's confidence in the property is through the roof).

Again, though, that confidence has been earned. Thanks to the creative energy of writer/directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, The LEGO Movie wound up with an incredible 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes (making it easily one of the best reviewed films of the year). It pulled in $257 million domestically and $210 million internationally, which was enough to make it the number one earner in 2014 for a long time after it was released (it still is the second highest earner here in the US, behind only Captain America: The Winter Soldier).

Warner Bros. announcing these two new titles today is part of a huge maneuver on the studio's part to lay out what their big plans are between now and 2020. Earlier, they not only announced that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is moving away from Captain America 3 and will now come out in March 2016, but also nine untitled DC projects and two "WB Event Films" (that many predict to be the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and its sequel).

The LEGO Movie 2 is being directed by Chris McKay (the animation co-director/supervisor on the first film) and is being scripted by Michelle Morgan and Jared Stern. At this point Ninjago is being directed by first time feature filmmaker Charlie Bean (best known for helming eight episodes of the television series Tron: Uprising, and the script is being penned by a team that includes Kevin Chesley, Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman and Bryan Shukoff.